Teaching

Psychological assessment is a methodological subject for psychological research and applied psychology. Its main issue is the accurate measurement of inter- and intraindividual differences in psychological attributes, behavior and experiences. This includes the diagnostics of continuity and change as well as the surrounding context and situational factors. An accurate description is the basis for accurate decisions and predictions of future behavior and experiences as well as their potential to change in defined situations and contexts. Psychological Assessment is an examination subject of bachelor’s and master’s programs of psychology.

Test results

Currently none available.

Differential Psychology is a subdomain of psychology and as such a basic subject. It is focused on the description and explanation of differences among humans in their experiencing, thinking, feeling, and acting. Normally it uses methodology of empirical sciences. For the description of individual differences, it relies on a set of diverse constructs including morphological and physiological attributes (e.g. BMI and attractiveness), needs, motives, interests, attitudes, capacities (e.g. intelligence and creativity), and temperament traits (e.g., emotionality and extraversion). For the explanation of individual differences, it usually relies on evolutionary theories, (epi-)genetic and neurological factors as well as learning, humanistic and socio-cognitive theories.

The term personality has been used ambiguously in the literature. On the one hand, psychology of personality can be seen as a subdomain of differential psychology, focusing on individual differences in relatively stable and situationally consistent patterns of thinking, feeling, striving, and acting. On the other hand, it encompasses theories on the development of individual differences, intraindividual processes and situational variation in behavior and experiences. From this perspective, personality psychology can be seen as borderline science between other disciplines of psychology. The differential and personality psychology is an examination subject of the bachelor’s program of psychology.

Test results

Currently none available.

Behavior genetics examines the genetic contributions to individual differences in characteristic patterns of emotionality, cognitions, motivations, and behavior. In other words: To what extent do genetic differences contribute to each person’s uniqueness? Behavior genetic research does not only focus on how phenotypic differences are due to the variable aspects of the human genome but also to environmental circumstances experienced by individuals. Behavior geneticists use different study designs, such as quantitative extended twin family designs (ETFDs) and molecular genome-wide association studies, to disentangle genetic factors from environmental factors and their complex interplay to explain individual differences in experiences and behaviors. Behavior genetics is an examination subject of the master’s programs of psychology.

Test results

Currently none available.

See research focus.